Secret Worlds (272 page)

And in truth, she needed him to be there. Even worse, she might need him to carry her there because she wasn’t sure if she could walk to her death on two steady feet.

“Aye, Diana.”

Thank God.

“But I’ll be going through with you.” His voice brooked no argument.

Shocked, she broke out of his arms and looked up at him. His jaw was set and his eyes fierce.

“But you can’t. You’ll die. Your soul could be stuck there.”

“Aye, possibly. You think that would stop me?”

A hard lump formed in her throat, painful in its intensity, and her eyes prickled. She didn’t want to be alone in this, but she didn’t want him to die, either.

“I was at the university today,” he said. “Trying to figure out if I could survive going through the portal. There’s a chance I can.”

“Really? How?”

“Some species, like the demons, can pass through safely. Because Erebus is the region of the Roman underworld that is reserved for warriors, it’s possible that Mythean Guardians, who are warriors and immortal, can pass over the boundary without losing our earthly bodies and becoming trapped.”

“You’re sure?” Her heart raced.

“Nay.”

“But what if I’m trapped there? Is that how I’m supposed to die? By becoming trapped? What if I succeed in killing him, but I can’t get back out because I’m mortal and can’t get back to my body?”

His arms squeezed the breath from her lungs. “Then I’ll stay. I’ll find a way to get you out—or I’ll stay.”

“In hell?” Her heart constricted at the thought of the man she loved trapped in hell with her soul.

“Do you think it hasn’t been hell here on earth without you? Hell is wherever
you
are no’.”

She gripped him fiercely in return. Could he possibly love her? “And if he kills me?”

“Won’t let him.” Determination flashed behind his eyes.

“But if he does, and I’m reincarnated as another person…you’ll wait for me, right? You’ll
know
me? You’ll make me remember us?”

Her throat tightened, a jagged rock lodged within. Once again, she didn’t speak of love, and neither did he. Everything was too fraught with emotion and tension to add it, but she couldn’t help but ask.

“Aye, I’ll always know you.” He crushed her mouth to his. She returned the desperation of his kiss, tangling her hands in his hair and welcoming the invasion of his tongue. He clutched her close and she poured her heart into him.

When they drew apart, she caught her breath. “You’ll let
me
do this, though? You won’t try to interfere as you did with Boudica?”
If I’m destined to die, I might as well get a chance to save my friend and the world.

“You are the only one who can accomplish this task. But I’ll be there, should you need me.” She felt his muscles tighten beneath her.

“Then we need a plan. I’m a good fighter, thanks to my soul’s memories, but it’s no guarantee that I’ll win. So I need something clever to ensure my victory.”

And so she told him her plan, hoping he would agree.

Her last morning on earth was clear and bright. The crisp autumn air was cold on her throat. God, it was good to be alive.

Diana turned to look at the man she loved. They’d risen early, before dawn. The sun was beginning to peek over the tops of the buildings as they walked down one of the sets of narrow stone stairs that wound through the city, a few errant leaves scraped along the ground in front of them. Autumn was nearly past now, and winter was on its way. She tried not to think of what that meant for her. But all of these unknown people she was trying to save had better appreciate it.

They hadn’t far to go, only to the base of the small cliff upon which both Edinburgh Castle and Cadan’s flat sat. As they stepped off the last stair and into the Grassmarket, a small district at the bottom of the stairs, the sun crept over the buildings and cast its warm glow on their intricate, soot-stained facades.

Diana wished that it would warm her the way that it warmed the buildings, but she didn’t think it would be that simple.

She reached for Cadan’s hand as they walked along the street at the base of the cliff. They were to meet Esha and Warren at the entrance to the underground and these would be her last few moments alone with Cadan when they wouldn’t be fighting for their lives. Maybe they should just turn and run for it and hope for the best.

Instead, she took a bracing breath.

Too soon, they came upon Esha and Warren, who stood a few feet apart near a crevice in the cliff’s side. She squeezed Cadan’s hand, then let go.

I can do this.

“So, you’re ready?” Esha asked. Her long, graceful form was slouched casually against the rock wall, but her face and eyes were serious.

“I am.” Diana was grateful that her voice was stronger than her stomach, but it was little consolation. She hadn’t been able to keep down her coffee this morning; was, in fact, barely able to comprehend that it might have been her last cup.

She felt Cadan’s hand squeeze her shoulder as if to keep her from trembling.

“Good. Here—” Esha stepped forward with her hand outstretched. “These are invisibility charms.” She dropped a necklace into her hand and another into Cadan’s. Diana closed her fingers around it tightly. “As long as it’s around your neck, you’ll be invisible. The charm will wear off in a few hours, though. I’ve added a little extra something so that you’ll be able to see each other, as long as each of you is wearing yours. If only one is wearing it, you’re screwed.”

“Thanks. You made them?”

Esha nodded. “Took a couple tries, but since I can’t go with you I figured I’d try to use my magic this way. Send a little bit with you.”

“I appreciate it. I can use every bit of help I can get.”

“Then you’ll like this.” Esha pulled a pack off her back, unzipped it, and withdrew a large piece of stiff leather. “It’s an enchanted breastplate. It will help protect you from weapons and some magic.”

Diana’s throat tightened at the effort Esha was putting into keeping her alive. “You charmed this too?”

A rough chuckle escaped Esha. “No. The spell is better than anything I could manage. It’s Andrasta’s. She wanted you to have it for this, so she dropped it at my place last night. She said she hopes it helps.”

“It will.” Diana unfastened the buckles and shrugged into the ancient armor, turning around so that Esha could fasten it. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem,” Esha said.

“Is this the only entrance?” Diana nodded toward the crevice.

“No, but it’s the one closest to the portal that doesn’t go through any heavily trafficked sections of the underground. We don’t want to run into anyone, and since I can’t transport everyone at once, we’ll just walk.” Esha turned, and after shooting Warren a quick glance, headed toward the crevice.

Diana wanted to look up at Cadan, but couldn’t. She teetered on the edge of a breakdown, and even a little bit of sympathy would push her over. She couldn’t afford that. She had a plan. What she didn’t have was another option. Fate might say she was supposed to die, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Esha led them through the crevice in the wall. It expanded to let them enter and the air immediately took on the old, stale scent of abandonment. Esha handed out flashlights that she pulled from the bag thrown over her shoulder.

Diana flicked hers on to provide light for Cadan to hand out their weapons now that they were hidden within the underground. He unzipped the case he’d brought and handed her Boudica’s sword, then strapped a quiver of arrows and a small bow to his back. His sword came out last, though she knew he had a dagger in his boot as well.

“Ready?” Cadan asked.

She nodded and the four of them set off down the tunnel, crunching over rubble and animal bones.

They arrived at the chamber with the portal and Diana immediately started to breathe more shallowly from the stench. Stale air became dead air and her stomach dropped when Esha gestured toward the far side of the room to where the portal had opened. She still couldn’t see it, but within moments she would be walking through and leaving her body behind.

When her soul tore away from her body, would it hurt? She assumed it had to, and it became harder to drag air into her struggling lungs. The desire to run back out into the sun was nearly overwhelming. She reached blindly behind her for Cadan’s hand. She wasn’t sure if she could do this.

He came up behind her and gripped her hand, laid one upon her shoulder and squeezed. “You doona have to do this,” Cadan whispered into her ear.

“Yes—yes, I do.” Her stomach jumped and her extremities trembled, but she had to do this. For all her bravado, she really didn’t have another choice. “I can—”

Her words were cut off as chaos rocked the chamber. Two tall figures hurtled through the portal. Cadan pushed her behind him, but not before her flashlight highlighted a harpy. It shrieked when the light blinded it, and charged.

“Watch out!” Esha screamed, blasting a fireball from her palm at the harpy that charged toward Diana.

No! If they caught her and took her to Paulinus, she would lose the advantage. Her plan would be dead.

“Go!” Warren yelled as he clashed with the second demon. “We’ll hold them off.”

Diana and Cadan took off for the portal, dodging around the harpy that had lost an arm to Esha’s fireball. She grabbed Cadan’s hand, and with one last breath, stepped into the area that she thought held the portal.

She gasped when the world suddenly quieted and darkened.

Wait. She could breathe?

“Diana.” Cadan’s voice was awed. “You have your body.”

She looked down at her arm. He was right. She was flesh and blood, as he was. He, she had expected. But she stared at her own arm in joy. It didn’t have the pale translucence of the souls she’d seen here before. Those souls maintained the same form they’d had on earth, but were a pale imitation of themselves.

She was just...Diana. But somehow more, as if taking this last step toward courage had allowed the two aspects of her soul to knit properly together. She felt the strength and knowledge of Boudica running through her veins all the more strongly. Even if her plan failed, she would have Boudica’s strength and skill to fall back on.

“You’re a warrior, Diana. The portal was no barrier to you.”

She hadn’t died? If she still had her body, did that mean that Paulinus was meant to kill her here?

“We can do this,” she told Cadan. And herself.

“Aye, always knew you could.”

She nodded gratefully, then slipped the charm over her head as he did the same. His confidence acted as a buoy for her own.

She spun to look at their surroundings. It was the same place she’d visited before. Still gloomy and dark, with a foul yellowish mist creeping along the ground, but
she
was actually here this time instead of just her consciousness.

The river flowed sluggishly nearby, winding through the marsh that grew on either side. A vast field of wheat stretched before them that led to the forest where Paulinus had created his altar.

She swallowed.

“Which way?” Cadan lowered his hand to the sword sheathed at his side. They hadn’t seen anyone else yet, but she gripped her sword tighter as well.

“Toward the forest.”

They set off in that direction, stepping cautiously on the boggy ground. It soon hardened beneath their feet as the marsh transitioned to the field. Gray wheat rose up to their thighs, waving lightly in the foul breeze.

“Go first to the boy, and stay with him.”

“Aye, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you as well.”

She tried to smile, but she was filled with nothing but dark purpose now. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the boy. About her daughters. Boudica had sent him here, and though she understood the rage and pain that had caused her to do so, as Diana she couldn’t bear the thought.

The boy hadn’t killed her daughters; he was just a child. She’d do what she could to make amends. As she couldn’t for her daughters.

They reached the forest and began to pick their way around fallen limbs and branches. Black, leafless oaks twisted and reached toward a gray, starless sky of perpetual night.

Diana froze when she heard the crack of a tree limb that neither she nor Cadan had stepped on. Cadan whirled to face the noise, placing himself between her and danger.

“Hey!” she whispered.

“Just protecting you ‘til you get to your final task.”

That was understandable, but either way, she stepped up beside him.

Another twig snapped, this time about twenty feet to the left of the first. Cadan slipped a knife out of a sheath strapped to his forearm and whipped it into the distance. There was a soft thud, and then silence.

“Demon.” His voice was short. “I could see it through the trees. I doona know if it could see us, but...”

His vision was much better than hers, so she nodded. They crept onward, stopping long enough to retrieve the knife from the demon’s corpse. They passed within sight of several wandering souls, but none of them displayed interest in their presence. The charm must be working.
Thank God.

Diana clenched her fist around the sword in her hand when she felt the energy in the air change. Maybe it was the thinning trees, but she swore she could feel it.

“We’re nearly there,” she whispered.

“Aye, I can hear them.”

Damn.
His senses were excellent.

They reached the clearing, which still held the terrible altar with Paulinus standing behind it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cadan’s head swivel to the left. “There’s a demon, over there in the trees, who’ll do fine for your purposes. It’s guarding the clearing like the others.”

“They’re harpies. Watch out for the wings. They hide them on earth, but they’ve got them here.” She pointed to the far edge of the clearing, behind Paulinus. “There’s Vivienne and the boy.”

They leaned against two trees, Vivienne bound but not the boy. He stared up at the claw-like branches.

“I’m off now. Good luck. I’ll have you in my sights.” He leaned down and swept her toward him. He pressed a kiss to her lips, gave her a fierce look, and then disappeared into the forest after his prey.